לָעַט (la.at)
la.at
to eat
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb la.at appears only once in the Old Testament, found in Genesis 25:30. In this specific instance, it describes Esau’s desperate act of swallowing his brother Jacob’s lentil stew. The form used is the Hiphil, which intensifies the action to mean swallowing greedily or devouring food with haste.
This rare word captures a moment of physical urgency that reveals character. It is not merely about eating; it connotes a hurried, almost frantic consumption driven by immediate need. By using this specific term for the stew, the text highlights Esau’s impatience and his willingness to trade his birthright for a single meal.
Its solitary occurrence makes it a precise tool for narrative emphasis. Translators often render it as "swallow" or "devour" to preserve the sense of rapid ingestion. The word serves as a vivid detail in the story, grounding the theological conflict in a concrete, physical action that underscores the cost of immediate gratification.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word la.at appears just once in Scripture, capturing Esau’s desperate swallowing of lentil stew. It is not a gentle meal but a frantic consumption driven by immediate physical need. This single verb reveals how urgent hunger can cloud judgment and lead to impulsive decisions that cost us dearly.
In our own lives, we often face moments where immediate comfort seems more valuable than long-term promises. The story reminds us that rushing to satisfy every craving can cause us to overlook what truly matters. God invites us to pause, seek His wisdom, and value the spiritual blessings He offers over fleeting satisfactions.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- let swallow/ me1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הַלְעִיטֵ֤/נִי1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 25:30
Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom.
The verb describes Esau’s frantic swallowing of stew, highlighting how immediate physical hunger led him to trade his birthright in a moment of impatience.